Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Alpha 3: Turrisantos Trekkers

Barbilla National Park is rich in biodiversity

Two days into this first phase and our limits are being tested to the extreme. Barbilla National Park is probably the most beautiful and serene place I have ever seen however... it is brutal!

Night 1 at Ernesto's House in Barbilla National Park

We were thrown in at the deep end on day one of our trek but after finally making it to the start of the park, we set off going from open green fields to the dense, dark and incomprehensibly muddy but incredibly beautiful rainforest in an instant.

Emily

Quick break

Though we are still faced with an extremely difficult trek ahead, through the last bit of Barbilla National Park, I have no doubt that Alpha 3 will battle through and thoroughly enjoy the adventure that we have been given the privilege to embark upon.

Cards before bed

Alpha 3 planning their route

We are presently around halfway through the park in an indigenous village. All of the people are so welcoming and kind, the house we are staying in is luxury - there's even a roof!

Dougie just before sunrise

Stunning sunrise for Alpha 3

We are all excited for the last day in the forest, caked in mud, and then for the rest of the phase and i'm sure that Alpha 3 will remain strong throughout.

Alpha 3 saying goodbye to Head Offices Leonie and Photographer Liz who joined them for 3 days.

Todays blog was written by Conrad, Alpha 3's Venturer Project Communications Officer.

Monday, 4 February 2013

13A's induction is over: now the hard work really begins!

Expedition 13A is now well under way - yesterday saw all of our teams deploy to their respective projects but not before a big day of packing and planning which all culminated in an amazing evening of inspirational talks from our Country Team of Julian, Pedro and Simon.

The evening ended with a wonderful slideshow of what our teams had done since arriving; an intensive period of learning and challenges for all but it is amazing what can be achieved with a lot of hard work and a go for it attitude from every member of expedition.

We thought you would love to see what everyone has been up to - so here is our Venturer Induction video, put together by our incredible and very talented photographer Liz:

Today is Day 1 of Phase 1 and Alpha's 1 to 10 will be beginning their projects across Costa Rica and Nicaragua - we will bring you lots more updates over the coming days and weeks from our Project Communications Officers, Venturers who have volunteered to be our bloggers on project. This will hopefully give you an idea about what it is like to be a Raleigh International Volunteer, the projects that are undertaken and how Raleigh ensures their sustainability, the themes we are discussing (for Phase 1 it is Social Justice leading upto UN World Social Justice Day on the 20th February) and furthermore the outcomes we hope to achieve.

Find out more about the Raleigh's Project Framework by clicking here >

Finally, a big thank you to everyone for the amazing support we have had so far and for your comments on the blog and just a quick reminder that if you are posting a comment for a volunteer on expedition just make sure you tell us their full name and team.

Pura Vida!

Saturday, 2 February 2013

Alpha Project Allocations: Phase 1

Raleigh International aim to have young people from a variety of backgrounds, nationalities and life stages on each expedition. Furthermore we hope all our volunteers are individuals who are open to new experiences and cultures; are team-players who want to develop leadership skills; and are motivated to make a difference to local communities.

Expedition 13A's first 19 Day phase begins on Sunday 3rd February, when all of our teams will deploy to their respective projects: find out all about our projects by clicking here > (or click on the team titles below for more information) The 3 types of project are Adventure, Community and Environment, so to our first phase teams, drumroll please...

Alpha 1 to 3: Adventure

Each trek covers 250kms in 19 days. Learning navigation, camping and survival skills along the way; teamwork, determination, a good sense of humour and talent for games are essential. The 4am starts, tough climbs and up to 10 hours trekking a day are all made worthwhile when rewarded with incredible views, abundant wildlife and an enormous sense of achievement upon arrival at the beautiful beaches.

Alpha 1 - The Coast to Coast Trek, Costa Rica

The refried beans 'frijoles' challenge - 10 seconds to eat as many as possible

Led by Project Managers (PMs) Sarah and Colin, Alpha 1 are (clockwise from top left): Billy, Robin, Adelina, Philipp, Rosina, Angus, Colin, Fay, Jeff, Sarah, Ellie, Tabs, Luke (not in picture) and Maykel

Alpha 2 - Corcovado Trek, Costa Rica

Led by Project Managers Chris and Sarah Alpha 2 are:

Clockwise from top left: Alex, Ben, Charlotte, Sarah, Lewis, Anouk, Chris, Flavia, Frances, Catharine, Natasha, Luis, Charlie and Dom

Alpha 3 - Turrisantos Trek, Costa Rica

Led by PMs Gemma and James (clockwise from top right): Gemma, Dougie, Kieron, Imi, Jac, Nelson, Con, Denise, Jaap, Daniela, James, Emily, Rachel, Freddie, Leonie and Katy

PM James, getting Alpha 3 in the spirit

Alpha 4 to 6: Environmental - Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

Working with SINAC (System of National Conservation Areas), the environmental groups live and work alongside the park rangers to help maintain and improve the region’s national parks and wildlife refuges. The projects are hugely important in supporting UN Millenium Development Goal 7: Ensuring environmental sustainability - helping preserve natural resources and habitats, and protect important species of plants and animals.

Alpha 4 - Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Objectives: Maintaining and creating new trails in the park, increasing tourist numbers and ensuring income for the park and local economy.

The Carara crocodile being allocated her prey

Alpha 4 led by PMs Louise and Emma (clockwise from top left): Louise, Emma, Emilie, Hidde, Jos, Ben, Cecilia, Josh, George, Ollie, Celine, Emma, Amy, Adriana and Henry

Alpha 5 - San Lucas Island Costa Rica

Objectives: Environemental Protection Project - creating new trail, development of visitor centre.

Alpha 5 led by PMs Sally, Paul, Kate and Artist Holly (clockwise from top left): Holly, Greg, Charlie, Sally, Charlotte, Jade, Nick, Emily, Anna, Matt, Job, Gina, Ollie, Ben, Kate and Paul

Alpha 6 - Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica

Objectives: Environmental Sustainability Project - working alongside park rangers to maintain park infrastructure.

PMs Clive & Zoe

Alpha 6 led by PMs Clive & Zoe (clockwise from top left): Nacho, James, Lilly, Jelmer, James, Abi, Izzy, Dom, Tom, Ottie, Alex, Adriana, Zoe and Clive.

Alpha 7 to 10: Community - Sustainable Development

Living in the heart of some of the most remote areas of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, these projects provide a unique opportunity to work alongside members of the communities to provide basic facilities such as access to clean water and education. The hard work of the Raleigh groups helps to improve the quality of life and provide valuable resources for the many generations to come.

Alpha 7 - Matapalo, Achuapa, Niaragua

Objectives: UN Millenium Development Goal to improve the health of the community through education in water sanitation and installation of a gravity water feed.

Led by PMs Lena and Antonio (clockwise from top left): Lena, Mark, Sarah, Mat, Robbie, Willie, Nina, Matt, Nina, Charlie, Berny, Antonio and Seb

Alpha 8 - Siares, San Ramon, Nicaragua

Objectives: UN Millenium Development Goal 2: Universal Primary Education, Alpha 8 will be building a pre-school, installing two latrines and a water standpipe.

Led by PMs Dav, Denise and Marie (clockwise from top left): Thomas, Alex, Merle, Jess, Mary, Tom, Denise, Marie, Ella, Anthony, Harini, Victor, Dav and Rakeem

Alpha 9 - Conte Burika, Costa Rica

Objectives: Health Improvement Project, building a health post in a remote indigenous society. This project hopes to improve the overall health of the community in treating conditions from respiratory issues to malnutrition.

Led by PMs Helena, Katharine and Shane (clcokwise from top left): Wisha, Drew, Flo, Katinka, Philip, Bella, Kieran, Cas, Don, Helena, Kate, Kat, Shane and Roger

Alpha 10 - Arenilla, Miraflor, Nicaragua

Objectives: Creating sustainable housing using natural materials which ensures the local community can repair the properties themselves.

Led by PMs Sacha, Vic and Angie (clcokwise from top left): Sacha, Villo, Henry, Iona, Michelle, Laeticia, Anders, Joe, Vic, Flo, Glyn, Elpha, Alejandra and Angie

Find out more about the projects, our partners and objectives here or by clicking on the team title.

How to send your loved ones a message

It's easy. Scroll down to the bottom of the most recent entry and click the comments link. A box will then appear where you can write your comment - please don't forget to tell us who the message is for including the full name and project group of the recipient. You can select name/URL from the dropdown menu to tell us who it's from (you can leave the URL blank if you wish). Finally, click on 'Post Comment' and you're done.

As you can imagine there are 180 volunteers so hundreds of messages for loved ones, no comments go live immediately and have to be moderated for appropriateness, so please do bare with us.

All comments that are pertinent to the post will be publshed and all personal messages will be delivered (even if they don't appear published). Messages mean a lot to all the volunteers; thank you for your continued support.

Raleigh Lingo

Copy that?

Sometimes our Raleigh technical terms can be a tad confusing so we've put together a glossary for you blog followers. This will appear as a quick-reference section on the right-hand column so you can translate our Tico-terms into something a bit more palatable. And for those keen to brush up their Central American Spanish, we've included some handy translations. Here's a few to get you started...

Alpha, X-Ray and Zulu groups
(Grupos Alfa, X-Ray y Zulu)
The official name for project groups during the phases of CR&N 13A. Alpha will be out on project from 3rd to 23rd February, X-Ray from 24th February to 15th March and Zulu from 17th March to 5th April. Project groups are allocated during induction

Basha
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basha is hung up between two trees and supported by rope, bamboo and canvas straps

Bodega
A Spanish word meaning store or warehouse

Bravo
A term of endearment for our hard-working Land Rovers. The four vehicles are officially, and imaginatively named Bravo One, Two, Three and Four

C.A.T.I.E.
The agricultural and development research institute on whose campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at http://www.catie.ac.cr/

Changeover (Cambio de Fase)
Two day period where all staff and Venturers return from their project sites for some respite before they are all reallocated and sent off to do it all over again...

Chicas, Chicos
Spanish term meaning girls (chicas) or guys (chicos) or both (chicos aswell). As in “Vamonos chicos!” or “Let’s go guys!”

Craic
A way to gauge how people are feeling, usually measured from 0 to 90. If your ‘craic’ is high, you’re pretty happy. If you announce a low craic, people will probably fix you up with an energy bomb and a nice big hug

CR&N 13A
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expeditions 13A

Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Team is designated DL – they are in charge of the day, including organising the day’s briefing, keeping group morale up, dealing with any problems, sticking to schedule and de-briefing at the end of the day. The DL role rotates round the whole group so everyone takes a turn

Energizer (Actividad Levanta Muertos)
An activity to gather the group together and raise energy levels. Can be used at the beginning of the day, or whenever a quick pick-me-up is required

Energy bombs (Explosión de azucar)
A trekking treat – mix together oats, raisins, condensed milk and chocolate powder and roll into little balls of gooey goodness to power you through the day

Fieldbase (FB) (Campo Base)
Refers to the Raleigh ‘office residence’ which is where the Fieldbase staff eat, sleep and work, whilst organising the expedition, manning the radios round the clock, supporting the projects, planning transport and logistics, keeping tabs on the finances and much, much more

Field Base Volunteer Managers (Equipo Logístico Voluntario del Campo Base)
Volunteer support staff for the expedition. The team looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ of the expedition and ensures everything runs smoothly. This consists of three permanent staff members - the Country Director, Country Project Manager and Country Expedition Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer

Gallo Pinto
A traditional Costa Rican dish of rice and beans (yum!)

Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game

Longdrop (Letrina)
The camp loo. Literally a deep hole in the ground, it is one of the first tasks to complete when setting up jungle camp for obvious reasons! Short drops are similar, normally used for overnight stops when a shallower trench will suffice

Longs (Pantalones)
From 6pm onwards, we all don long trousers and sleeves to discourage the bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET

Maxis
Short for Maxi Pali, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost

Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua

Ninja
A popular game/energizer used by venturers and Project managers alike. Everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit the team members either side of them on the hand via a single ninja movements. Sound effects welcome

POPS
Legendary milkshake and ice-cream parlour chain found all over Costa Rica – perfect for a sweet splurge

Pork and beans (Frijoles con cerdo)
Another staple foodstuff for trekkers: tinned beans with a slightly sausage twang, served cold for lunch. Usually accompanied by dry cracker dust, sprinkled liberally on to the top. If you’re in a hurry, this can be consumed without cutlery straight from the can

Project Managers (PMs) (Guías)
Project staff for the expedition. Each of the groups has at least two PMs who work with the Venturers to develop skills, lead projects and challenge themselves

PURA VIDA!
A very special Costa Rican phrase that means hello, goodbye, I’m great, it’s good, pure life, basically any positive, feel-good thing can be Pura vida!

Radio check (Chequeo de Radio)
As well as a daily SITREP, all Alpha projects are required to complete a second radio call-in each day to check in, receive messages and report any developments

Review (Revisión)
A round-up that assesses how everyone feels, what went well and what needs work. This is sometimes an ‘activity’, sometimes a chat around the campfire, or sometimes just a bit of time to reflect. It’s an important part of everyone’s personal development so we make sure it happens every day

Roadtrip (Paseo Volando Rueda)
The logistics team and some of the Field Base team drive the Bravos on a loop round to each of the accessible project sites once per phase. They deliver kit, supplies, site visitors, messages from the blog and of course the all important post

Ropa Americana
Purveyors of the finest second hand American threads. Perfect for fancy dress/obtaining that long coveted college sports jersey

SITREP (Reporte de la Situación)
Literally Situation Report. A special radio message sent from the satellite project sites back to fieldbase once a day. It follows a certain format and includes all sort of handy information like where they are, what they’ve been up to, what they need and what they’re planning to do next

Tang
A fruity powder that is used to make squash. Jolly useful for taking away the chlorine taste of purified water

Ticos
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Costa Rica

Trangia (Mini Cocina)
A portable cooking stove. Used primarily for trekking, a trangia’s compact design makes it perfect for easy transportation. Literal translation in spanish - mini kitchen. Makes sense

Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase

Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Venturers (from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Partnership Venturers (positive young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK who participate in Raleigh expeditions as part of a longer term development programme) and UK and International Fundraising Participants (who work hard to raise money to contribute towards the charities work and expenses in order to take part in the expedition)

Wash up (Revisión Final)
The last few days of expedition, spent debriefing, returning equipment, performing skits, and most importantly enjoying the farewell party (tears alert)

Zero (Cero)
A radio term that identifies the radio controller at Fieldbase. Fieldbase monitors the radios 24-7, listening out on three frequencies for calls from our satellite project sites. When the radio alarm sounds, we might answer something like this: “Hello unknown call sign, hello unknown call sign, this is Zero, this is zero, do you copy, OVER?”